Doing Better
by Morganna Raye
Summary: Hermione breaks up with Ron before she returns to Hogwarts. A certain blond haired Slytherin shows her how she can do better. Rated T for occasional language.
1. The Break Up

**A/N: This is my first shot at writing a Dramione fic. I hope you enjoy it.**

**I have also made a slight change in the fact that Fred is no longer dead. He won't feature much in the story but I didn't want him to die.**

**Please review, all are welcome (except flames) :).**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1 - The Break Up<strong>

"Are you sure you're going to be all right?" asked Ron as I packed my trunk for school. I was headed back to Hogwarts for my final year, however, neither Harry nor Ron were joining me.

"Ron, I'll be fine," I said exasperatedly. "Just because you won't be there doesn't mean that I'll immediately get myself a detention."

"Yeah well, if that ferret does anything to you, owl me immediately and I'll come and hex him into next year for you," he said. Thankfully we were rescued by Harry and Ginny who had entered the room.

Ginny would be returning to Hogwarts for her final year with me while Harry and Ron went off to start Auror training. I had been offered an Auror position as well, but I refused as I wanted to finish my school years and then do something to maybe take S.P.E.W. further.

I slammed the lid of my trunk shut and the four of us headed down into the Burrow's kitchen were Mrs Weasley had prepared us a farewell dinner. Mr and Mrs Weasley had sort of become my adoptive parents, as when I had gone to find my parents in Australia they had been so happy there in their new life I hadn't wanted to take that from them. So I'd left them there and had been living with the Weasley's ever since.

Ron, Harry, Ginny, George, Fred, Percy, Bill, Mr Weasley, Mrs Weasley and I all sat around the large dining table and ate dinner. Ginny, Harry and the twins were involved in a discussion about something I really didn't want to know about and Bill and Percy we discussing Percy's new job. And what was Ron doing? Instead of spending his last night with his girlfriend, he was scoffing his mouth with food and plain ignoring me. If it had been anyone else I would have been severely hurt, but because it was Ron I forgave him.

I decided that now was a good time to break the news I had been keeping a secret for ages. I cleared my throat, "Excuse me everyone," I said timidly and everyone stopped talking to look at me. "I just thought that now would probably be a good time to tell you all that I have been made Head Girl." There was total silence for a few seconds before everyone exploded into noise.

"Hermione, that's wonderful," exclaimed Mrs Weasley.

"Good job Hermione, I always knew you would get it," said Percy.

"You can finally put Malfoy in his place," said Ron. Now he chose to pay attention to me, only when I had something interesting to say, which in his mind was anything to do with Quidditch or something that would involve getting back at Malfoy in anyway.

"Congratulations Hermione," said Ginny and she gave me a big hug. "And that reminds me, I forgot to tell you but I've been made Gryffindor Quidditch Captain."

Once again, there was a lot of nose as everyone at the table congratulated Ginny of her accomplishment. I had always known Ginny was an excellent Quidditch player, but being made Quidditch Captain was something huge to her, especially since Harry had been the Gryffindor Captain before he left.

During all this noise, I slipped away from the table and headed back up to the room I had been sharing with Ginny over the summer break. I pulled out my new favourite book _Hogwarts: A History, the revised edition_ and opened it to my current page. As much as I enjoyed the supportiveness of the Weasley family, I needed my own space as well.

Ginny probably wouldn't be back until late, Harry would probably take her out somewhere special for their last night together until next break. There was no chance of Ron doing anything like that with me; he was too concerned about himself to worry about me.

I sometimes wondered why I was even still with him, but then I remembered how much support he had given me with S.P.E.W. after the war, that was about the only thing that kept me going with him, his interest in one of the things I cared passionately about.

I read a few chapters of my book, before I decided to go and say goodnight to Ron and get myself a good night's sleep in preparation for tomorrow.

I slipped out of my room and down the corridor to Ron's, I knocked tentatively on the door and got no answer, I pushed it open slowly and gasped at what I saw.

Ron was in his room alright, but he wasn't sleeping. Instead he and Lavender Brown were on his bed snogging heavily. I gasped, let out a small sob and fled from his room, not caring who saw or heard me.

_How dare he,_ I thought angrily as I threw myself down on my bed tears streaming down my cheeks. _How dare he, after all we've been through he goes and cheats on me with that cow of a person, Lavender Brown._

I rolled over and buried my face in my pillow. I must have fallen asleep at some stage because then next thing I was aware of was Ginny and Harry entering the room. I lay still until Harry left and then rolled over to face Ginny.

She saw my tear streaked face and was immediately at my side. "What happened Hermione? What did Ron do this time?"

"He-he was ch-cheating o-on me wi-with Lavender Br-brown," I sniffled.

"That arrogant prat, how long ago was this?" she asked.

"I don't know, before you and Harry got home," I replied.

"Then she could be gone by now. Look, you stay here and I'll go and sort this out." She said, standing up to leave.

"No Ginny," I caught her sleeve. "I need to deal with this, he's my boyfriend."

I left the room and walked down to Ron's bedroom for the second time that night. I flung the door open, stormed over to his bed and yanked the covers off him. "Ronald Weasley!" I yelled.

He sat up in bed with a start. "Merlin Hermione, shout a bit louder, I don't think that the people at the end of the street heard you."

"Ronald, this is no time for jokes," I spat at him. "I want you to explain why Lavender Brown was in your room earlier tonight and why you were snogging her."

Ron looked mortified, good.

"Y-you saw that?" he stuttered.

"Yes I did, and I would like you to explain why you were cheating on me with that fat cow of a person," I said.

His mouth was opening and closing like a fish, but no words were coming out.

"Exactly as I thought, there is no explanation. Well Ronald, I think that you can officially deem this relationship over," I said and I turned to leave to room.

"Wait, Hermione, I can explain," he called after me.

"Too late Ronald. You've had your chance," I called back.

He caught up to me, "Hermione, I honestly don't know why she was in there, she just apparated in there and started snogging me."

"Well you didn't seem to angry about it," I said. "In fact, it looked like you were quite enjoying it, now if you don't mind I would like to get some sleep, because unlike you, I have to go to school tomorrow."

Then walked into my room and shut the door in his face. Ginny was sitting on her bed reading an old edition of _Witch Weekly_.

"Well," she said expectantly.

"I broke up with him," I said as I pulled on my pajamas.

"Good for you. You can do so much better than that annoying prat," she said.

I nodded in agreement.

That night, I hardly slept. I tossed and turned all night, thinking about what I had said to Ron, I missed him already, but I was very firm with myself that I wasn't going to run back to him.


	2. Going To School

**Chapter 2 – Going To School**

The next morning Harry, Ron and Mrs Weasley took Ginny and I to Platform nine and three quarters.

"Good luck at school dears," she said.

I boarded the train and stowed my trunk away in a compartment. I returned to say goodbye to Harry and Ron and found Harry locked in an embrace with Ginny. I didn't fancy facing Ron alone so I went over to Mrs Weasley and gave her a big hug. "Thanks for everything this summer Mrs Weasley," I said.

"It was no trouble dear," she replied. "Now you'd better get on the train before it leaves without you."

I said a quick goodbye to Harry and looked around for Ron but I couldn't see him. I could waste anymore time, so I got and the train and went back to my compartment which was now also occupied by Ginny, Neville and Luna.

The train began to move out of the station and only then did I see Ron. He was watching the train leave, but instead of waving to Ginny and I, he was waving to Lavender Brown with a huge smile on his face.

_Great,_ I thought. _Not only does he completely ignore me, but now I have to spend an entire year with his obnoxious girlfriend_.

"Hermione," Ginny broke my thoughts. "Aren't you supposed to be meeting, the prefects and McGonagall in the first carriage?"

"Shit you're right," I said. I pulled on my cloak and raced down the train. Muttering apologies to the occasional person I bumped into.

I made it to the first carriage and saw Professor McGonagall in there with the prefects. Draco Malfoy was also there.

"Malfoy," I said. "What are you doing here?"

"I could as you the same question,' he said.

"I have been made Head Girl," I said, then I spotted the badge on his robes and my heart skipped a beat. "And I see you've been made Head Boy."

"That is correct, if a mudblood like you can't handle it then maybe you had better resign," he sneered.

"Language Mr Malfoy,' said Professor McGonagall. "As Head Boy you are expected to get along with the Head Girl, not insult her."

"Of course Professor," said Malfoy, but he shot me a look which was full of dislike.

"Right, now, you and Miss Granger will be in charge of organizing all of the prefects rounds and you will also be sharing living quarters. No, that does not mean sharing a bed, but it does mean sharing a common room." Professor McGonagall said.

I looked at Malfoy with distaste and then turned my attention back to Professor McGonagall. She said a few quick words to the prefects and then left Malfoy and I in charge.

Malfoy was quite happy to sit back and let me do all the work.

_Merlin, he is so much like Ron, yet so different,_ I said, secretly looking at him. His white blond hair had grown over the holidays and he was taller. He was like Ron however, in the fact that he was lazy and that he let me do all the work while he watched.

I finished assigning the prefects their rounds and then it was just Malfoy and I in the carriage.

"I'll see you at school Malfoy," I said as I left the carriage. I wandered back to the compartment, and sat down next to Ginny.

"So who's Head Boy?" she asked almost immediately.

"Malfoy," I muttered. "And I think I'm going to be doing most of work. He is so like Ron. So insensitive and lazy."

Neville and Luna were looking at me like I was crazy. Of course, they didn't know about my break up yet. I quickly filled them in on the details, and then the trolley came around. We all brought chocolate frogs and exchanged cards back like we did when we were in first year.

We pulled into the Hogsmeade station soon enough and the four of us shared a carriage with Padma and Parvati Patil on the way up to the castle.

The two girls had been taken out of Hogwarts in their sixth year after Dumbledore was killed and so were also returning for their seventh year, or in our case eighth year.

The carriages arrived up at the castle and the students filed in. We took our seats at our respective tables and waited for Professor Flitwick to bring the first years in. Eventually they arrived and the Sorting Hat sang it's song and then sorted the first years, but I wasn't concentrating. I was looking over at the other side of the Hall.

Draco Malfoy was seated at the Slytherin table and looked completely uninterested about everything that was going on around him. It looked like none of his friends had come back to finish their schooling. Well Crabbe obviously couldn't because he was dead, and Goyle was probably on the run somewhere. I didn't know where Blaise or Pansy were, and I didn't want to know either.

I didn't even notice when Professor McGonagall finished her speech and food appeared, Ginny had to bring me back to earth.

"Earth to Hermione, dinners been served, and it looks much more interesting than that ferret you're looking at," she giggled.

I turned back to face the Gryffindor table, my cheeks blushing furiously after just having realised that I had been staring at Malfoy for the last few minutes for the entire school to see. Merlin, the last thing I wanted was for Parvati and Lavender to spread around the word that I was going after that ferret.

I finished my meal reasonably quickly and said goodnight to Ginny and Neville. "I'm going to bed, we've got lessons tomorrow and I don't want to fall asleep in the middle of Potions, I don't think Professor Slughorn would be very happy." I explained.

I climbed the stairs to my dormitory, pushed open the door and was greeted by a very cozy living area with sofas, arm chairs, a coffee table and a fire place with a blazing fire in it. I went up the small stair case and saw three doors. I opened the first door to find a small bathroom, and the second door revealed a bedroom decorated in green and silver with a person sitting on the bed.

"Malfoy," I gasped. "I didn't know you'd left the Hall yet."

"Been watching me have you Granger?" he asked. "Hadn't you better be writing to Weasel about your first night."

I chose not to answer that question and had a good look around his room.

"Granger, this is my _private_ room. I would appreciate it if you didn't come barging in here," he said, putting extra emphasis on the word 'private'.

"Oh, sorry," I said and I left shutting the door behind me.

I pushed open the door to the final room and found a room exactly like Malfoy's except it was decorated in red and gold, Gryffindor's colours.

I unpacked my clothes and hung them away in my wardrobe and stacked my books neatly on my desk. After pulling my pajama's on, I climbed into bed, wishing that Ron was there.

Tears started to slip down my cheeks and I didn't even make an effort to stop them. Soon I was sobbing my heart out loudly, no caring if Malfoy heard me, and then I drifted off to sleep, dreaming of Ron holding me in his arms.


	3. Mixed Emotions

**A/N: I noticed that for my first few chapters I got lots of alerts and favourite stories, but not a single review.**

**I feel honored that so many people have taken an interest to this story, but It wouldn't hurt for you to pretty please leave a review would it?**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3 – Mixed Emotions<strong>

I was sitting at the Slytherin table alone thinking how bad my luck was. I had boarded the train as Head Boy only to find out that that mudblood Granger was the Head Girl. She was just as bossy as always, not even letting me help organize the prefects.

Food appears on the table, but I wasn't hungry. I mumbled a quick goodbye to Millicent Bulstrode, one of the only Slytherins from my year remaining, and headed out of the Hall.

McGonagall had said something about the Heads dormitories being up on the seventh floor.

_Great, even closer to those Gryffindors,_ I thought as I made my way up there. I opened the door into our small common room and climbed the stairs up. I opened the first door to find a bathroom. I looked behind me and saw there was only two other doors. Great, either we were both sharing a room and there were two bathrooms or we had separate rooms and we were sharing a bathroom.

I figured it was the latter of the two and moved onto the door on the opposite side of the hall. I pushed open the door and saw a bedroom decorated in red and gold. _This must be the mudbloods room,_ I thought as I shut the door.

Entering the third room, I found a bedroom exactly like the mudbloods but it was decorated in green and silver.

I realised my trunk was already in there and I put away all my clothes and threw my books onto my desk. I flopped down on my bed and put my head in my hands. Why did I have to come back to school? Mother was in charge now that Father was in Azkaban and she had said she wanted me to complete my school years.

I hadn't wanted to come back but my thoughts had been change slightly when Granger had walked into the prefects carriage on the train. She looked more confident than what she had when Potter and Weasel were around. I had found myself looking at her, but had quickly pulled my eyes away from her.

Then, in the Great Hall at dinner, I had noticed her looking across the Hall at me. Then that Weaselette had said something and she had turned away.

She looked so miserable that it made me want to do something to help her, yet I also hated her because it was because of her, Potter and Weasel that my father was in Azkaban. But I didn't care about him anymore.

I heard footsteps on the other side of the door, and then it opened and Granger was standing there.

"Malfoy," she gasped. "I didn't realise you'd left the Hall yet."

That made me certain she had been watching me. "Been watching me have you Granger?" I said, then, "Hadn't you better be writing to Weasel about your first night?"

I thought it was funny when she didn't answer that, but just looked everywhere in the room apart from me. Her brown eyes darting here and there.

"Granger, this is my _private_ room. I would appreciate it if you didn't come barging in here," I said.

"Oh, sorry," she said and left shutting the door behind her.

Merlin, what had I just done. I had just kicked the Head Girl out of my dorm, of course I had a right to do that, but she was kind of cute.

Wait! Why was I thinking about her like that? She is a mudblood. All those months with Mother must have made me soft. But they way her eyes filled with hurt when I had mentioned Weasel was something different. Something was going on there and I was going to find out what it was.

I pulled the covers off my bed and climbed in. I had just gotten comfortable when I heard a noise from her room. I didn't hear it for a moment and then it came again, slightly louder.

_What on earth is she doing?_ I wondered. The noises kept happening until I realised, she was _crying!_ Granger was one of the strongest people I knew and she was crying.

_I wonder what she's crying about,_ I thought. _I probably don't want to know, something about Weasel or Potter probably._

I lay there listening to her. Each sob sent a shiver down my spine, I wanted to go in there and hold her close, tell her everything was alright, but I knew I couldn't, she would murder me.

The crying stopped eventually, and then it was all quiet. I slipped out of bed and over to the doorway to her room. _This is it_, I thought. _This is your chance._

I pushed the door open quietly and saw Hermione lying on the bed, asleep with her eyes red from crying. Wait, did I just call her Hermione, I really must be growing soft.

I crept into the room quietly and made my way over to her bed. Being careful not to wake her, I climbed onto the bed not bothering to pull the covers back and placed my arms around her. I only meant to stay there a few minutes but I slowly felt myself drifting off to sleep.

I was woken then next morning by a movement next to me. I opened my eyes, to see that Hermione had woken up and had rolled over to face me.

"Malfoy!" she yelped. "What are you doing in my bed?"

"Her-Granger," I corrected myself, the last thing she needed was to hear me calling her by her first name. "I honestly only planned to stay a few minutes, but I was so tired I fell asleep."

But she wasn't listening. She was on her feet and was dragging me off the bed by my ankles. "Woah Granger, what got you so riled up?" I asked.

"What got me so riled up?" she asked. "Oh, I don't know, maybe…_you!_" She gave a hard yank at my ankle and I fell off the bed hitting my head on the floor.

"Merlin Granger," I muttered as I left the room, that girl had one hard tug. I made my way back to my own room to get dressed. Why had I stayed so long? Why had I even gone in there in the first place? It was like I was asking for trouble.

Then the answer came to me, I didn't like it, but it was simple.

I was falling for Hermione Granger.


	4. In The Corner

**Chapter 4 – In The Corner**

I could not believe that that ferret by the name of Draco Malfoy would decide to come and get into my bed with me. He is such a git.

I was so angry that I started being careless with what I was doing. I swept my arm over my desk to scoop up my books, but accidentally caught my sleeve on a photo frame. It smashed to floor and I bent to pick it up. It was the photo of me and my parents in Paris. One of my favourites. It was almost all I had left of my past life, the one I didn't like to think about.

The tears started coming again and I didn't stop them. I sobbed as I very carefully placed the photo back on my desk and grabbed my book bag. I glanced in the mirror and saw my eyes were red and puffy. I hastily rubbed away the last of my tears and headed down the Great Hall.

I entered and immediately spied Ginny and Neville sitting at the Gryffindor table. I headed over to her and plunked myself down. Ginny looked at me, saw my red eyes and her expression immediately changed.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" she asked, setting her spoon down in her cereal bowl and turned to face me.

"It's Malfoy," I said as I grabbed some toast with butter on it, I was aware that Neville was listening in and I motioned for Ginny to speak quieter.

"What's he done this time?" she whispered.

"I woke up this morning, rolled over and found him in my bed, next to me, with his arms around my waist," I recounted.

Ginny's mouth formed a perfect 'O'. "That insolent little ferret," she hissed. I watched her warily as she scanned the Hall, thankfully, Malfoy hadn't come down yet, I didn't want to think of what would have happened if he had.

"Next time we meet him, I'm going to make him wish he'd never come back to school," she said, turning back to me.

"Ginny, please don't," I said. I surprised myself by doing that, what was I doing defending that worthless git for.

"Hermione, he spent the night in bed with you. Something needs to happen," Ginny protested.

"Fine, something will happen. Just let me deal with it," I said.

"Fine," Ginny huffed and turned back to her cereal.

Our first lesson of the day was Potions which we unfortunately shared with Malfoy. Ginny and I were among the only Gryffindor's who were taking Potions as N.E.W.T. class, so we were expecting a small class.

Ginny and I were wandering through the Dungeon corridor when we met Peeves.

"Oh, what are two little Gryffindor girlies doing wandering around in the dungeons," he said.

"Go away Peeves," I said. "We have to get to class." But no matter in what direction we tried to walk in Peeves continually blocked us.

It took us around ten minutes to get passed him and by that time we were late to Slughorn's lesson. We raced into the room and looked around the class for some seats. Unfortunately the only two seats next to each other were at the same table as Malfoy.

We slipped into them as Professor Slughorn started the lesson and I immediately started taking notes. We were going to be doing a lot of theory this year in preparation for our N.E.W.T.'s. I was sitting between Malfoy and Ginny and I was extremely uncomfortable. I had planned to ignore Malfoy all day, but having to sit next to him was defiantly not a reason to.

I fidgeted in my seat wanting the lesson to be over so I could escape from Malfoy. Finally the bell rang and the class began to pack up their things. I scooped my books and quills into my bag and followed Ginny out the door.

"Don't forget, I want an essay on Polyjuice Potion and its dangers if not used correctly by our next lesson," called Professor Slughorn as we all left the room.

Soon Ginny and I were in the fourth floor corridor. We were wandering along aimlessly before I decided to break the silence.

"Ginny, I have to go to the bathroom before our next lesson. I'll meet you in Charms," I said.

"Okay, do you want me to take your bag for you?' she offered.

"Thanks that would be great." I replied, passing it over to her. She staggered under the weight of it.

"Merlin Hermione, what do you carry in this thing, bricks?" she asked.

"No, books," I called as I made my way down the corridor.

I entered the bathroom, did my business and went over to the basin. I looked at myself in the mirror. Same brown eyes, same bushy hair. Why couldn't something be different.

I washed my hands and walked out of the bathroom. Only to run smack bang into none other than Draco Malfoy.

"Malfoy," I gasped. "What are you doing hanging around outside the girls bathroom?"

He started walking towards me so I was forced back into the corner. "I saw you go in and I really wanted to talk to you, so I waited for you to come out," he said simply.

"And what did you want to talk about?" I asked. He was now extremely close; I could feel his breath on my face.

"I wanted to apologize for what happened this morning, and that I honestly only meant to stay a couple of minutes. I only went in there because I heard you crying and it made me feel sad. I only wanted you to feel better. I think I'm falling for you Granger," he said.

"Oh really?" I asked. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes," he whispered. "This."

And he very gently placed his lips on mine in a quick kiss. I closed my eyes. Then suddenly his lips left mine.

"See you in Transfiguration," he whispered, and when I opened my eyes, he was gone.


	5. The Question

**Chapter 5 – The Question**

I wandered into Charms still thinking about what Malfoy had done to me. I slipped into my seat next to Ginny, saying a quick apology for being late to Professor Flitwick. Almost immediately Ginny slipped me a note.

_What happened? _It read.

_Tell you at lunch._ I wrote back and then concentrated on Professor Flitwick. Well I tried to concentrate on him anyway. My mind was running haywire with thoughts of Malfoy's kiss. Why had he done it? Why did he want to kiss me of all people? I was just plain old Hermione Jean Granger, the last I had heard he was dating Pansy Parkinson. But I supposed he probably hadn't seen her since she was escorted out of the Great Hall after suggesting we turn Harry over to Voldemort to save our skins.

Eventually lunch rolled around and Ginny and I went down to the Great Hall to grab some food and then headed down to the lake.

"So what happened that made you late to Charms? It must have been something to make you late for Flitwick." She said.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say bad but you may think it is," I told her.

"Well, spit it out then," she said.

"Well I went to the bathroom like I said I would and when I came out Malfoy was standing there,"

"Malfoy? What was he doing there?" asked Ginny.

"If you let me finish you would know. Anyway, he started walking towards me until I was stuck in a corner then he said he was sorry about what happened last night. I asked him if there was anything else and he said yes and kissed me. I shut my eyes momentarily and when I opened them, he was gone."

"He, kissed you?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, and I'm not saying it was bad because it wasn't. It actually felt kind of nice." I giggled.

"Who are you and what have you done with Hermione?" Ginny asked. "Hermione would never go around snogging Slytherins."

"Hey, I didn't ask for it, he just did it," I protested.

Ginny sat silently for a moment, thinking, before she said. "Hermione, it's obvious what he's doing."

"What's he doing Ginny?" I asked.

"Well the only reason I can come up with of why he would want to spend the night in bed with you, apologize for making you angry and then kiss you is that he must actually like you."

"Who are you and what have you done with Ginny?" I asked. "Ginny would never suggest something like that, especially not about that ferret."

Ginny just huffed and turned away.

"Well, I'm going to the library to get started on our potions essay, you coming?" I asked, standing up.

"No, I promised Luna I'd help her prepare for Care of Magical Creatures. I'll see later," called Ginny and we both went in different directions.

I was wandering down the corridor thinking about Malfoy. That kiss was one of the best I had ever had. Better than anything I had had with Ron. He had always been rough rather than gentle.

By this time I was in the library with my books in front of me. I was in the back corner but I could still hear Lavender and Parvati giggling over Ron's last letter to Lavender. She must have gotten one at lunch seeing as it was only the first day back.

I tried not to think about Ron, but I couldn't stop myself. I remembered the kiss we had shared during the final battle and everything that had happened. Then I remembered back to two nights ago when I had caught him cheating on me with Lavender.

I couldn't help myself. The tears started coming, and I didn't stop them. The dripped off my cheeks onto my parchment leaving marks. Great, now I would have to get new parchment.

I buried my face in my hands and sobbed. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder, I looked up and saw Malfoy standing there.

He sits down on the bench next to me. Great, the last thing I need is for him to spread round the school that he caught me crying. But instead he just asks gently "What's wrong Hermione? Why are you so sad all the time?"

And out it comes. Absolutely everything. About how Ron and I had gotten together, and then how I had caught him cheating on me and then about leaving for school without a goodbye, waking up in bed with him next to me, the kiss…the list was endless. "I'm so confused," I sobbed, burying my face in my hands again.

"Hermione, you're worth so much more than that Weasel," he soothed. "You are so much better than him, he doesn't deserve you."

"You think so," I asked, lifting my head.

"I know so," he said and he leaned in and kissed me. It wasn't a rough kiss like Ron would give me, it was gentle and loving. I snaked my arms around his neck and his came around my waist.

I pulled back.

"What's wrong," he asked.

"Draco, we shouldn't be doing this here, not where everyone can see," I said.

"Okay, pack up and lets go back to the common room," he said.

I scooped my stuff into my bag and we headed to the common room. We collapsed onto the sofa and he held me in his arms.

"What was it like?" I asked.

"What was what like?" he asked, confused.

"Being around everyone during the war?"

"Well, it was sort of scary. I mean, having You-Know-Who at our house for most of the time. It wasn't pleasant," Draco replied.

"How's your mother?" I asked.

"She's fine. I think she's happier without dad. It was her idea that I come back to school this year, and I'm very glad she suggested it," he said.

"Me too," I replied kissing him softly.

Draco pulls back and turns me so than I'm facing him. "Hermione, I have something to ask you. I really, really like you, and I was wondering if you would like to be my girlfriend."

"Yes," I whispered softly, and pulled him in for another kiss.


	6. Telling Them

**A/N: I have decided that every third chapter will be in Draco's point of view, so we can see how he's feeling about things as well.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 6 – Telling Them<strong>

Hermione and I had been dating for around four weeks. We had kept it quiet and only the Weaselette knew because she was Hermione's best friend. She wasn't that bad actually, well, not as bad as her brother anyway.

We had started going places together, keeping well out of the public eye. We would stop in dark corners or side passages for a quick snog and would cuddle up by our fire in the evenings.

Then one evening Hermione told me something.

"Draco, I really think it's time we told Harry and Ron that we're dating," she said.

"Are you sure?' I asked, it wasn't likely that they were going to take the news kindly.

"Well, if they're real friends then they'll accept that this is my decision," she replied, then "Ginny said they were coming to Hogsmeade this weekend, we could all meet in the Three Broomsticks."

"If you're sure," I replied and I pulled her close to me, kissing the top of her head.

* * *

><p>It was Saturday and Hermione, Ginny and I were heading into Hogsmeade after getting our permission forms checked by Filch.<p>

The two girls walked slightly in front of me, chatting away about who knows what. Soon we were in Hogsmeade.

"Harry and Ron won't be here until half-past twelve, so we've got about an hour," said Ginny. "I said I'd meet Luna and Neville in Honeydukes so I'll see you guys later," and then she was gone.

"What do you want to do?" I asked Hermione, wrapping my arm around her waist. There weren't many people in Hogsmeade today, so it was safe for us to be together.

"Well, I really want to get a new book. So can we please go to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop," she asked, staring up at me.

"Of course, then we can do something I want to do before we go and meet Potter and Weasel- I mean Harry and Ron," I corrected myself, catching her glare.

The two of us entered the shop and I waited for her to finish choosing a book. I didn't know how someone could take that long to choose a book but then again, I'm not that much of a reader myself.

"Okay, what do you want to do?" she asked me once we had left the shop.

"I'll take you there. Close your eyes and keep hold of my hand," I said, and then proceeded to lead her through Hogsmeade Village to a quiet little alleyway out of the view of everyone. "You can open your eyes now," I whispered.

She opened them and looked around. "Why are we here Draco?" she asked, puzzled.

"So that I can do this," I whispered as I leaned into kiss her. She kissed back and soon I had one hand on the back of her head and one around her waist. She was running her fingers through my hair. I ran my tongue along her lips and she granted me entrance.

After what seemed like days, or maybe even weeks we were jolted out of the kiss by a sharp "Oi, what are you doing with Hermione, you ferret?"

We whirled around to see Harry and Ron standing in the alleyway, having just apparated there.

"Harry…Ron…" Hermione said, clearly at a loss for words. "Come to the Three Broomsticks with us, Ginny will be there and then we can explain everything to you."

Hermione and I lead the way, holding hands and soon we were seated comfortably in a booth with Ginny as well.

"Now, are you two going to tell us why we caught you snogging in the alleyway or are we supposed to guess?" asked Ron.

"Ron, if you'd shut up for a second and listen then I might," snapped Hermione, which immediately made Ron shut his mouth. "This only started because you decided to cheat on me with Lavender Brown. I came to school and I was so upset I didn't know what to do. Draco and Ginny were the only people who seemed to care about what I'd been through. If it wasn't for Draco being my boyfriend, I'd still be depressed."

"Wait, so you're telling me that you dumped me for this ferret?" Ron asked angrily. I really didn't like where this was going.

"Ron, I didn't I swear, I hadn't had any contact with Draco until school went back," Hermione protested, clearly getting upset. I decided it was time to intervene.

"Weasel, if you were smart you would keep that mouth of yours shut." I snapped. "Hermione was really cut up during the first day of school and at least she's happy now. Much happier than she ever was with you from what I hear anyway."

"Oh, so you've been talking about me have you," said Ron, turning back to Hermione. "Telling Malfoy all my bad points. Why don't you just join up with his Death Eater pals and then we'll all be happy."

Hermione looked like she was about to burst into tears. How could that Weasel be so mean to her.

"Come on Hermione," I muttered. "Let's go back up to the castle. It'll be much quieter there."

She nodded in agreement and the two of us started to walk up towards the castle. I noticed however, that sitting at a table close to ours, was none other than Lavender Brown herself with Parvati Patil.

We walked slowly, arms around each others waists, and her head on my shoulder.

We reached our common room and sat down on the sofa. She buried her head in my chest and let the tears flow, soaking my shirt. I held her close, stroking her hair and waiting until she was ready to talk.

"How could he be so mean?" she sniffed a few minutes later. "That's nothing like the Ron I knew a few months ago."

"Don't worry about him," I soothed. "Remember what I said. You're so much better than him and worth so much more."

"You're right," she said. "I don't need Ron to make me happy. I need you."

"And I need you too," I whispered as we cuddled on the couch.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I really liked this chapter mostly because I got to get back at Ron for being so mean to Hermione. Plus, I love writing as Draco.**

**Remember, all reviews are welcome (except flames) :).  
><strong>


	7. Who Spilled The Beans?

**A/N: I know this chapter's short, but it needed to be in here. I'm not that fond of it, so I'm not bothered if none of my readers are either.**

**Just please remember to review.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 7 – Who Spilled The Beans?<strong>

Two days after the trip to Hogsmeade. I met Neville, Luna and Hannah Abbott in the corridor. They immediately rounded on me.

"Why are you dating Malfoy?" Hannah cried.

"Yeah, he's a Death Eater!" added Neville.

"Maybe the wrackspurts have got to her," said Luna dreamily. When Hannah looked at her she added, "They make your bran go fuzzy."

"Look guys, I really don't have time for this," I said. "I have to get to the common room and start my homework."

"And snog Malfoy," Hannah added as I walked away.

I noticed that as I walked through the corridors, people we looking at me weirdly. Someone even shouted 'Death Eater Lover' at me. There was only one explanation, someone must have told people about Draco and I.

I reached the common room and discovered that Draco was already there.

"Did you tell anyone about us?" I asked him.

"No, I was going to ask you the same question. All day today people have been looking at me weirdly. Even the Slytherin's won't talk to me. I asked Millicent why and she said it was because I am dating a mudblood."

"Well, if you didn't and I didn't, then who was it?" I asked, thinking hard.

Draco didn't speak for a few moments before saying, "The other day, when we left the Three Broomsticks, I saw Lavender and Parvati sitting at a table close to use. Maybe one of them spilled about us."

"Yeah. I'll bet you it was Lavender because she's the one dating Ron. And plus, Parvati wouldn't do anything like that. I think I'll go and have a word to her now." I said and I turned to leave.

I walked through the corridors until I saw the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Password?" she as I approached the door.

"Devil's Snare," I replied and she swung open. I scanned the common room and then spotted Lavender sitting by the window with Parvati. I walked over to them and spoke to Lavender.

"Lavender, could I have a few words with you outside?" I asked politely.

"Sure," she replied, standing up and following me outside the common room.

"Lavender," I started. "Was it you who told everyone about Draco and I dating?"

"Yes," said Lavender after a moment's hesitation.

"Why did you?" I asked.

"Because you're all Ron talks about. It's always 'Hermione this' or 'Hermione that'. It's really starting to get annoying. So I thought that if I told everyone then you would immediately think it was Ron and then you'd fight and he'd shut up about you and focus on me," she replied.

"Yes, but now that he knows I'm dating Draco, he probably won't want anything to do with me anyway. And if he does talk about me, it will probably be complaining anyway."

"You're right," replied Lavender. "It was stupid of me to do it, and I'm sorry if I hurt you."

"It's fine. We were going to have to tell people sometime anyway. There's nothing we can do about it now." I said, giving her a hug.

"Thanks Hermione, can I go now?" she asked.

"Sure," I said and she disappeared back into the Gryffindor common room.

I ran all the way back to our common room and burst in the door. "Draco," I called.

"Yes," he called back, emerging from the bathroom.

"It was Lavender. She told everyone about us so that Ron would stop talking about me and pay attention to her. She also apologized if she had hurt our feelings."

"Well that's good, and at least now we won't have to hide our relationship, but I warn you, most people won't be too happy about it." He said, tucking a lose strand of hair behind my ear.

"Yeah, there's always a good side to everything I said as we leaned in to kiss.


	8. Christmas Arguments

**Chapter 8 – Christmas Arguments**

It was the last day of school before the holidays. Tomorrow almost the entire school would be leaving to celebrate Christmas with their families. Draco and I were sitting in our common room that evening when he sprung a question on me.

"Hermione," he said. "My mum really wants to meet you and she's invited you around to our manor for Christmas."

I looked up at him sadly. "I'm sorry Draco, but I won't be able to make it this Christmas. I promised Mrs Weasley and Ginny that I'd be at the Burrow for Christmas. Maybe I can come a few days after that?"

"Yes, I'll tell mother when I get home," he said.

"Okay," I replied, leaning back into his strong chest. His arms wrapped around me and we stayed there in the dying firelight. Sharing our last night together for a few days.

* * *

><p>The next day Draco and I packed and headed down to the Entrance Hall with the rest of the school, holding hands.<p>

We climbed into a carriage with Ginny and three of us traveled down to the Hogsmeade station. We climbed out, and Ginny went off in search of some of her own friends, once again leaving Draco and me alone.

We boarded the train and found a compartment to ourselves. The train pulled out of the station and Draco was rummaging around in his bag for something.

"Hermione," he said to me, when he finally found what he was looking for and enclosed it in his hand. "Because I probably won't see you on Christmas, I want you to have this now." And he passed me a small jewelry box.

I opened it up to reveal a gold necklace with two small pendants. One was a lion with a ruby in it for Gryffindor and the other was a golden 'H'.

"Thank you Draco, it's beautiful!" cried, flinging my arms around his neck.

"It's nothing Hermione. Here, let me put it on you."

I took the necklace out of its box and passed it to him. He placed it around my neck and fastened it at the back.

"I looks beautiful on you," he said.

"Thank you," I whispered, and he kissed me.

We spent the remainder of the train journey, snuggled into each other. Exchanging the odd, small kiss and talking about our lives.

All too soon, the train pulled into Kings Cross Station and we had to get off.

We climbed off the train and Draco turned me to face him. "If we don't see each other these holidays, I want you to remember this one thing. I love you Hermione Granger. I love you more than anything in the world."

And with a kiss on the lips, he was gone.

* * *

><p>A few days later on Christmas Eve, I was sitting in the room I shared with Ginny doing some extra Transfiguration work.<p>

I heard the door open and Ginny walked in. She looked at me and then gasped.

"Hermione," she cried. "Where'd you get that necklace from? It's beautiful."

_Shit_, I thought as I glanced down. Sure enough my necklace was on display for all to say. I must have slipped out from inside my blouse went I bent down to get something. I had been keeping it hidden from people so as to avoid awkward questions.

"Oh," I said. "That's a Christmas present from Draco."

"He bought you that?" she asked. "It must have cost a fortune. Necklaces like that aren't cheap."

I hadn't really thought about it that way. I realised that if Draco was prepared to spend that much money on me he must really love me.

Thankfully I was saved from any more questions my Mrs Weasley calling for us to come and eat dinner.

It was very quiet at dinner that night because most of the Weasley family wasn't there. Percy and Mr Weasley had to stay late a work, Bill and Fleur were spending the night together and coming round tomorrow morning and Charlie was still in Romania. Harry and Ginny sat next to each other, and I sat between George and Mrs Weasley.

It was an excellent dinner, but I excused myself from the table before dessert.

"I'm not very hungry at the moment," I explained when Mrs Weasley asked why. Really, all I wanted to do was get up to my room and send and owl to Draco.

I was late when Ginny finally joined me in our room. I pretended to be asleep while she got ready for bed and once I was sure she was asleep I crept down to the kitchen where I found Harry's new owl Fabian.

"Alright, I need you to take this to Draco Malfoy in Malfoy Manor it told him."

He gave s small hoot in recognition and flew off. I figured that if he wasn't back in the morning then Harry would probably think he was out hunting.

I returned to my room and climbed into my bed, falling into a dream of Draco and myself.

* * *

><p>The next day was Christmas. Ginny and I awoke early and went downstairs to open our presents. I glanced around and thankfully Fabian was back on his perch. I had told Draco not to use the same owl I sent the letter with for the reply.<p>

Ginny and I sat on the floor like we were little kids and opened our presents. I had gotten a new quill from Harry, a pot of colour-changing ink from Ginny and a knitted maroon sweater with a silver 'H' on it from Mrs Weasley. I couldn't see anything from Ron.

Well actually, I didn't even recall seeing Ron, so I decided to go looking for him. I went upstairs to the room he shared with Harry and knocked on the door. Harry opened it, he looked like he;d just gotten out of bed.

"Harry, is Ron in there?" I asked.

"Err…no, he's not. I don't know where he is. He mentioned something about going to see Lavender but I'm not sure."

"Great. Thanks Harry," I said. "And Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too Hermione," he said before shutting the door.

* * *

><p>At about half-past eleven Ron appeared in the living room.<p>

"Morning everyone," he said. "Merry Christmas."

"Hi Ron," Ginny and I said. We were helping Mrs Weasley in the kitchen.

"Merry Christmas honey," said Mrs Weasley without looking up from the pot of soup she was watching.

"Hermione, can I speak to you for a sec?" he asked.

"Sure," replied, setting down my knife and following him out of the kitchen.

"Look," he said. "I'm sorry for being such a prat these last few months, but I was upset when we broke up, and seeing you with Malfoy just made me feel angry."

"Two things," I said. "One, his name's Draco and two, do you really think that I wasn't upset when we broke up either? Well I was. And did I go around yelling at people? No I didn't. So I'm sorry Ron, but that isn't a very good excuse."

He just continued talking as if I'd never opened my mouth. "And I'm here to ask you if you'll take me back as your boyfriend."

"RONALD WEASLEY!" I yelled. "Would you just shut up and listen to me! I am not going to be your girlfriend because in case you hadn't already noticed I have a boyfriend, and at the moment he seems a whole lot nicer than you."

That seemed to jolt Ron back to life. "Fine then,' he spat. "You go running to that ferret, see if I care?"

"Fine," I retorted. "I will."

I turned and fled into my room. I pack the few things I would need and apparated to Malfoy Manor. But not before leaving a note explaining where I'd gone on Ginny's pillow.


	9. Meeting The Parents

**A/N: I know, it's another short chapter, but I'm doing my best.**

**And I just realised I forgot a disclaimer so here it is:**

**Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger and all other recognised character's in this story are the property of J. K. Rowling. Anything unfamiliar is mine.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 9 – Meeting The Parents<strong>

Mother and I were sitting in the dining room eating lunch when there was a knock at the door.

I left my seat and opened it, only to find a sobbing Hermione on the front doorstep. I pulled her into a close hug and lead her inside out of the cold.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" I asked.

"It was Ron," she said through chattering teeth. "He came and apologized and tried to take me back as his girlfriend."

That little weasel. How dare he do that to Hermione!

"Draco, who was it?" called mother from the dining room.

"Hermione, come with me. I'll introduce you to my mother. I think you'll like her." I told her. She agreed so I took her hand and led her into the dining room.

"Mother, this is my girlfriend, Hermione Granger."

"A pleasure to meet you Hermione," mother said. "Please, make yourself at home."

"Thank you Mrs Malfoy, it's a pleasure to meet you to," said Hermione.

"Please, call me Narcissa," said mother.

"Okay Narcissa."

"Draco, why don't you take Hermione up to the guest room and help her get settled. I'll get her some lunch ready."

"Sure. Come one Hermione." I said as I lead her upstairs to the guest room.

I opened the door for her and let her in. The guest room is one of the biggest in the house. It has a queen size bed, a wardrobe, a desk and an ensuite, plus plenty of floor space. I lead Hermione over to the bed and we sat down.

"So, what did that weasel do to you again?" he asked.

"Well he came home from spending the morning at Lavender's house and then asked to speak to me. So I went with him and then he said he was sorry for being such a prat and would I be his girlfriend again?"

"And what did you say?" I asked.

"I told him that he was being stupid and that I already had a boyfriend. Then he told me to come running to you and see if he cared, so I did."

"Hermione," I told her putting my arm around her. "For the last time, you are worth so much more than that weasel, you are so much better than him, so would you please just try to ignore him?"

She looked up at me with her brown eyes. "Of course Draco," she mumbled as she hid her face in my chest.

* * *

><p>At around half-past seven the three of us sat down to eat dinner. Hermione and mother were chatting nicely and I was pleased to see Hermione doing something other than crying or reading.<p>

After we had finished eating, Hermione taught us how to play the muggle game charades. It was hard to learn, but once we got the hang of it, it was lots of fun.

When it got to ten o'clock mother told us we had better go to bed. We climbed the stairs and I walked Hermione to her door.

"Goodnight Hermione," I whispered, kissing her forehead.

"Draco," she whispered. "Will you stay in my room tonight?"

"What? You mean sleep in your bed with you?" I asked. "The last time I did that I almost ended up with concussion."

"Yes, but that was because I hadn't invited you in. This time I'm inviting you," she whispered.

"Of course I will," I replied. "Just give me a moment to get changed."

I returned to my room and pulled on my pajamas, crossed the hall and entered Hermione's room. She was already in bed so I climbed in next to her.

"Thank you for doing this Draco," she whispered.

"It's no trouble darling," I whispered back, wrapping my arms around her and kissing the top of her head.

We must have fallen asleep like that because when we woke up neither of us had moved. I gave her a quick kiss and returned to my own room to get dressed.

I emerged from my room to find her waiting for me wearing jeans, a pink blouse and a marron jumper with a silver 'H' on it.

"Where's you get the jumper from?" I asked her as we made our way downstairs.

"Mrs Weasley," she replied. "She gives me one every year."

"Well I like it. It's like us, Gryffindor and Slytherin together, maroon and silver together."

Mother was already in the dining room eating toast when we arrived.

"Sleep well?" she asked.

"Yes thank you," Hermione replied helping herself to some toast with marmalade, I took some too.

Hermione and I made our way into the living room which was still decorated for the day before. I placed a record on the record player and the son started to play.

"May I have this dance, Miss Granger?" I asked, offering my hand to her.

"Yes, of course, Mr Malfoy," she said accepting my hand.

We danced for hours until eventually we had to stop for lack of breath.

"That was fun Hermione," I said, before I realised she was looking up. I glanced up to and I saw that we had stopped dancing under a clump of mistletoe.

"Excellent, that gives me a reason to do this," I said, pulling her into a heated kiss. She responded with full force and soon our tongues were battling for dominance.

When we surfaced, we were both gasping for breath.

"I love you Draco Malfoy," she whispered, hugging me and swaying to the beat of the still playing music. "I never thought I would, but I do."

"I love you too Hermione," I whispered.


	10. Back At Hogwarts

**Chapter 10 – Back At Hogwarts**

About a week later Draco and I were on the Hogwarts Expressing heading back to Hogwarts. Once again we had a compartment all to ourselves and we spent most of the journey cuddling.

When we arrived at Hogwarts, we climbed the stairs to our common room together. I left my trunk in my room and then we went down to the Great Hall for the welcome back feast. Meal times were the only time we couldn't be together because we were in different houses.

I sat down next to Ginny and listened to what McGonagall had to say.

"And lastly," said Professor McGonagall. "There will be a ball held in the middle of the term for fifth, sixth and seventh years as a relief from studying."

I couldn't believe my ears. There was going to be a ball. I hoped it was going to be as good as the Yule Ball back in fourth year. Draco just had to ask me. I was his girlfriend after all.

McGonagall finished her speech and then the tables became laden with food.

"Who do you think is going to ask you?" I asked Ginny as I helped myself to some Yorkshire Pudding.

"Oh, I don't know. I mean, I want to go with Harry, but McGonagall didn't say we could bring people from outside the school."

"Yes, but she didn't say you couldn't either. And anyway, do you really think that McGonagall would protest if he came?"

"Good point," said Ginny. "I'll send him an owl tonight, asking him."

* * *

><p>Days went by, but Draco didn't ask me to the ball. I was starting to get nervous. What if he didn't ask me? What if he went and asked one of his fellow Slytherins instead?<p>

I was sitting Transfiguration while I was thinking this. Then Ginny slipped a note onto my table. I unfolded it and read:

_Meet me in the R.o.R. tonight. 11:30pm._

_D.A.M._

I couldn't believe it. It was an invitation from Draco. I twisted around in my seat to look at him. He smiled and winked at me. It sent shivers up my spine. If we were caught, it would mean detention and we may even risk losing our badges.

That night, I lay in bed, until my clock read 11:25. I slipped out of bed and pulled on my dressing gown and slippers.

I padded quietly out of the common room and down the corridor to the blank wall, which was the entrance to the Room of Requirement.

_I need to see the place where Draco Malfoy is. I need to see the place where Draco Malfoy is. I need to see the place where Draco Malfoy is._ I thought as I paced back and forth in front of the wall. After the third time I opened my eyes, and saw that a door had appeared in the wall. Cautiously, I pushed it open, not knowing what Draco had planned for me.

When I saw what the room looked like, my eyes almost popped out of my head. The room was lit only by candles, and it smelt of roses. There was a table set for two on one side of the room, and a red three seater sofa with a low coffee table on the other side. And on that sofa sat my boyfriend.

"Draco," I gasped. "This is wonderful, but why go to all this trouble?"

"Because I wanted it to be special. And besides, all I had to do was imagine this place. It was barely any trouble at all."

I made my way over to the sofa and sat down next to him. He turned to face me.

"Hermione Granger, will you go to the ball with me?" he asked.

"Oh Draco, I thought you were never going to ask," I cried flinging my arms around his neck and giving him a hug. "Of course I will."

"Now, will you join me for a midnight meal?" he asked, looking over at the table.

"Of course," I said, as he took my hand and lead me over to the table.

"Winky," he called, and the house-elf appeared.

"Draco, do we have to use house-elves?" I asked.

"Hermione, how else are we going to get food?" he asked, looking at me.

"Well, I'm not really hungry. I ate a big dinner. And anyway, I was hoping we could do something other than eating. I mean, this is sort of like a date isn't it?"

"I guess it is," Draco replied. "What do you suggest we do then?"

"Well…I was thinking we could probably do some of this," I said leaning in and giving him a peck on the cheek. "And you are a brilliant dancer. I'm sure the room could do music if we asked it to."

"Sometimes I wonder why I never noticed you earlier," Draco muttered as he grabbed my hands and dragged me out to the middle of the room. A record player had appeared and music was playing, I recognised it as the same music from when we were at his house.

We danced for hours, until we were too tired to move our feet. We stood there, arms around each other, my head on his chest.

"This is the best date ever," I said.

"I aim to please," he replied kissing my head, then leading me over to the sofa.

We sat down and he turned me to face him. "I see you're still wearing my necklace," he pointed at my neck.

"I've never taken it off," I replied.

"I love you Hermione," he mumbled as his lips came crashing down on mine.

* * *

><p>The next morning I awoke to find Draco sleeping next to me in a queen sized bed with red covers. I wondered why for a moment before I remembered the night before. Draco had asked me the ball and I had accepted.<p>

At about two o'clock we had summoned a bed and fallen asleep in each other's arms.

"Good morning princess," came a voice from beside me. Draco had woken up.

"Good morning Draco," replied, pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

"Ready to go shopping?" he asked.

"I'm ready when you are," I said.

We got dressed into the clothes we had summoned and left the room. Today was Saturday, and it was a Hogsmeade weekend. Draco and I had decided that today we were going to go shopping for our clothes for the ball.

We made our way down to Hogsmeade. When we got there I led Draco into Gladrag's Wizardwear. I had been in there once before with Harry and Ron, but that had been to get a present for Dobby.

"Right, do you want to look at things for you or can I choose first?" I asked.

"You can choose first, because then we can get dress robes to match your dress," he said as we made our way over to the dress racks.

There were so many dresses, and they all looked beautiful, but when I put them on none of them felt or looked right.

"What about this one?" Draco suggested, holding up a sky blue full-length dress. It was very simple, with some beading around the neckline and the waist.

I tried it on, and when I looked at myself in the change room's mirror I looked like a princess, I felt like one too.

I stepped out and watched as Draco's mouth formed a perfect 'O'. "You look beautiful," he said.

"Why thank you," I said. "Now let's go and find you some dress robes."

Soon we had purchased the dress and a pair of black dress robes for Draco and were on our way back up to the castle.

"Wait, I want to get something from Honeydukes," I said and I hurried inside. I purchased two sugar quills and went back out to when Draco was waiting. I handed one to him and we sucked on them on the way up to the castle.

Today had been excellent and I couldn't wait for the ball.


	11. The Ball

**A/N: I have worked out that this story will most likely be twenty chapters long including an epilogue, so we're over halfway through.**

**Remember, all reviews are welcome (except flames).**

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><p><strong>Chapter 11 – The Ball<strong>

It was the night of the ball and I was getting nervous. What if I had gained weight and my dress didn't fit? What if my dress had been torn?

I carefully took it out my wardrobe and pulled it on. Once again I felt like a princess as I admired myself in the mirror. I did my hair so that it was no longer bushy and it looked similar to how I had worn it for the Yule Ball. Then I slipped on some white heels that I had found down the bottom of my trunk.

I emerged from my room and descended to stairs to our common room where Draco was waiting for me. He was wearing the dress robes we had picked out for him and he had combed his hair.

"You look beautiful," he told me, as I looped my arm through his.

"Thank you," I replied. The two of us left the common room and made our way down to the Great Hall.

By the time we got there it was already packed with couples dancing and talking. There were girls wearing dresses of every colour imaginable.

"May I have this dance?" Draco asked me.

"Of course," I said as he whisked me onto the dance floor which was already crowded.

We found space and began to dance. This was different to the past two times we had danced together as there were other people in the room and that meant we could dance as crazily as we had done before.

Eventually the song ended and Draco lead me over to some seats on the edge of the dance floor near the drinks table. He got us each a glass of Butterbeer and we sat down to enjoy them.

We hadn't been sitting there for long before Millicent Bulstrode came up to us. I recognised her from second year when I had been forced to duel with her in the dueling club set up by Gilderoy Lockhart. I had taken one of her hairs to use in a Polyjuice potion but it had backfired as it wasn't her hair but her cat's hair and the potion is for human transformations only.

"Draco, would you like to dance with me?" she asked.

"I would, but I'm here with my girlfriend," he replied, looking at me.

"It's okay Draco, you can have a dance with her. I don't mind," I told him.

"Okay, if your sure," he replied, but I didn't get a chance to change my mind because he had already been dragged into the sea of people on the dance floor by Millicent.

While I waited for him to return I looked around. I spotted Ginny. She was dancing with Harry and wearing a very pretty red dress. I was glad that Harry had been able to make it. They looked so happy together.

I continued scanning the dance floor for more familiar faces. Then I spotted Lavender. She was dancing with Ron. Of course he would have been able to come. If Harry was allowed to, then he probably would have been too.

I continued to watch them, but began to wish I hadn't. Lavender was saying something to Ron, and then he lowered her head and kissed her. Not a quick one, but a long one that makes your legs feel like jelly.

I dragged my eyes away from them and looked around the rest of the hall.

About fifteen minutes later Draco returned from his dance with Millicent.

"How was it I asked?" as he helped himself to another Butterbeer.

"Okay, she's a good dancer, but not as good as you," he replied.

The dance floor was beginning to empty a bit now as the couples grew tired of dancing and left to either return to their dorms or get something to eat or drink.

"Want to have another dance?" I asked him.

"Sure," he replied as we made our way back onto the dance floor. Slower music was playing now so we looped out arms around each other and swayed in time to the music.

"I saw Ron dancing with Lavender," I said. "He seemed to be enjoying himself."

"What's the weasel doing here?" Draco asked, starting to get angry.

"Draco, he would be allowed to come because Lavender's in her seventh year. Anyway, Harry's here as Ginny's date so it's only fair," I told him.

"Well if he tries anything with you, he'll have me to deal with," Draco hissed.

I rested my head on his chest. The Hall continued to empty and soon there were only a few couples left.

"Come on Draco, let's go back to our common room," I told him, and we left the Hall.

We climbed the stairs and arrived back in our common room. I slipped off my shoes and left them by the door.

I turned around only to have Draco sweep me up into his arm, give me a kiss, and carry me upstairs to my room.

"What was that all about?" I giggled as he sat me down on my bed and sat down next to me.

"Well I wanted you to truly feel like a princess. And everyone knows that princesses always get swept off their feet by their price charming," he replied.

"Oh, so you're just naturally assuming you're my price charming then are you?" I asked him.

"Well, I didn't think anyone else was," he replied.

"Just kidding," I said, giving him a hug. "You're my prince charming and so much more."

"I aim to please," he told me as he stroked my hair.

"Draco, will you spend the night with me again?" I asked.

"If you want me too," he replied before disappearing to get changed. He returned a couple of minutes later and we climbed into bed.

"I love you Draco," I whispered wrapping my arms around him and burying my head in his chest.

He brought his hands under my chin and lifted my head up so that I was looking into his face. "I love you too, Hermione," He told me before kissing me.


	12. NEWT's

**Chapter 12 – N.E.W.T.'s**

"Draco, I need to study. Our N.E.W.T.'s begin tomorrow and I've forgotten everything," my girlfriend Hermione wailed. Sometimes I wondered how Potter and Weasel could have stood her during exams.

"Hermione, relax. You're not called the smartest witch of our age for nothing. You'll do fine, and I promise that I'll let you study, but you can take a bit of time off to spend it with your boyfriend, can't you? You've been studying for weeks, I don't think I've seen you without a book, and now I think it's time you took a break," I told her.

"You're right," she said, shutting the book she had been taking notes from and moving to sit on my lap. "But on the subject of studying, I don't think I've seen you do any. You should at least do some for Defence Against the Dark Arts seeing as we have that exam tomorrow."

"I will, perhaps you can even help me. But now I think it's time we spent some time with me instead of your books. Otherwise I'll start to think you love them more than me," I teased.

"Oh Draco, you know that's not true," she told me, swatting at my arm. "I could never love them more than you."

I shifted my weight back onto the sofa so that I was leaning against the back and she shifted so that her head was resting on my shoulder.

I turned my head and kissed her hard on the lips she responded with full force. Soon our tongues met in battle. Eventually we pulled back, gasping for breath.

"Maybe I should take more breaks from studying if this is what happens," she whispered in my ear.

I pressed another soft kiss to her forehead, then the tip of her nose, then both her cheeks, then finally her lips. "Maybe you should, but you can go back to it now if you want to," I told her. "I also need some help with the Protean Charm. I hear that you're good at it."

"Yes, but who did you hear that from?" she asked as she stood up to get her books.

"A little bird told me," I replied.

* * *

><p>I awoke the next morning to the sound of Hermione running around in her room. Te next thing I knew my door was thrown open and Hermione stood there, dressed in her uniform and a worried look on her face.<p>

"Draco, have you seen where I put my quill? It's missing," she asked.

"I think you left it in the common room," I told her. "And by the way, you may want to put your tie on before you do down to breakfast."

She looked down and saw what I meant. "Thanks," she said before slamming the door shut.

Now that I was awake I pulled myself out of bed and dressed in my uniform and made sure I remembered my tie. I then packed my bag and went down to the common room where Hermione was putting her quill into her bag.

The two of us went down to the Great Hall where we separated to go to our respective tables. I sat down and at breakfast. McGonagall for all seventh years to wait behind in the Great Hall while all the other students went off to their lessons.

She briefly explained to us about the exams and introduced us to the examiners. The she ushered us all out of the hall.

We stood there for a few minutes before McGonagall let us back and told us to take a seat. She then explained that Auto-Correcting Quills and the like would not be allowed. Then she passed out the papers and said we may begin.

The majority of the questions were relatively easy, but I got caught on a few. Finally it was time up and McGonagall summoned our test papers and told us to leave the room.

"How do you think you went?" I asked Hermione when we got outside, and I immediately regretted it. She launched into a big speech on how she went and what questions she got wrong and what ones she got right. McGonagall let us back in and the four house tables had returned and we laden with food for lunch.

Hermione and I grabbed some food and headed outside to eat. I managed to get her to talk about something other than the exam. A few minutes later we headed back up to the castle and waited outside the Great Hall. McGonagall appeared at the door and called out a few names. I waited with Hermione until her name was called.

I gave her a comforting hug and watched her disappear through the doors. Later, McGonagall came out and called my name. I entered the hall and took my place in front of my respective examiner.

"Right, Mister Malfoy is it? I would like you to demonstrate the Patronus Charm for me," he said.

I raised my wand and said "_Expecto Patronum,_" and a silvery fox leapt from the end of my wand. It ran around the examiner a few times before vanishing into thin air.

Before last year, I had not been able to produce a patronus. My father had taught me how to due to close contact with dementors. I was surprised when it had turned out to be a fox, but I was happy with it.

The rest of the practical exam continued in much the same way and soon I was dismissed. I returned to the common room where Hermione already was. She was busy studying for our next exam.

The next two weeks went by rather quickly and soon I had no exams left. Hermione however, still had two more to go.

"Don't worry you'll be fine," told her as she left the common room each morning. She returned each evening with a worried look on her face. But it had usually disappeared by the morning.

Finally, it was Friday afternoon and N.E.W.T. exams were finally over. I no longer had to take another exam. I was free as far as I was concerned. Now all I had to do was wait for my results.


	13. Graduation

**A/N: My longest chapter!**

**I wrote this chapter while listening to ShortStack's **_**This is Bat Country**_** CD. I got it for my birthday and it is AWESOME!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 13 – Graduation<strong>

It was the second to last last day of school for all of the seventh years. Tomorrow Professor McGonagall would hand out the results from our N.E.W.T.'s and then we would enjoy a dinner with our families in the Great Hall. The only problem was, some of us, for example, me, didn't have a family. It was alright for Harry, he would be welcome at the Weasley's table, but I somehow got the feeling that Ron wouldn't be very pleases so see me sitting with his family as well.

I was thinking about all this when Draco returned to the common room after having just had a shower. He looked at my face and knew immediately that something was wrong, he's really good at doing things like that.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" he asked me, sitting down on the sofa.

I looked up at him. "Well, I was just thinking that I won't have anyone to sit with at the graduation ceremony tomorrow because my parents are in Australia," I told him.

He took my hands in his. "Hermione, if you want to, you can sit with mother and I. She seems to like you, and that will save you from having to sit with the weasel."

"Thank you Draco. I think I will do that. Otherwise I would look like a loner sitting all by myself," I told him, joining him on the sofa.

He made me stand up and then swung his legs up onto the sofa.

"What? I don't get a seat!" I protested, but then he patted the space between his legs and I understood. I sat there and reclined into his firm chest, made from years of playing Quidditch.

We stayed like that until the sun sank beneath the horizon and the fire grew to small glowing embers. Or at least that's what he told me. Apparently I fell asleep on the sofa and he had a hard time getting out from under me without waking me. Then he scooped me up and carried me to my room where he laid me on my bed.

The next morning I awoke to find I was still dressed in my uniform. _Well, at least he had enough sense to leave me in my clothes,_ I thought as I changed into my spare uniform and brushed my hair so that it lay reasonably flat. _Not that it will stay that way for long,_ I thought as I returned my brush to the dresser and made my way down to the common room.

Draco was already there. He was wearing his uniform the neatest I had ever seen him wear it.

"Are you trying to make a good impression on your mother?" I asked with a smile as I hugged him.

"Maybe," he replied. "But I could never live up to your standards."

"Don't be so negative," I scolded him. "I'll help you. Soon you'll be like me."

"Sorry Hermione, as much as that sounds like fun, I'd have to say no. I want you to love me for who I am not who I would be turned into."

"Oh, Draco. You know I already love you. I was only joking," I cried.

"Prove it," he whispered.

I stood on the tips of my toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. "There, does that prove it?" I asked.

"Almost," he said, before capturing my lips in another kiss.

"Draco, we really should go down to breakfast. I'm getting really hungry," I said when he pulled back.

"Fine, but I get you to myself for the rest of the day," he whispered in my ear as we left the common room.

Because it was the last day for all of the seventh years, we did not have any lessons that day. Draco and I planned to spend the day together, having some fun before the holidays came.

It was around quarter past ten when I had an idea.

"Draco, seeing as it is summer, do you think Professor McGonagall would mind if we went swimming in the shallows of the lake?"

"I don't think so, we are the head students, so we wouldn't do anything dangerous," he replied.

"Well do you want to then?" I asked.

"Sure, just let me get changed and get a towel. You should probably get changed as well," he said.

Soon we were both walking down towards the lake. We spread our towels out on the edge of the lake. I took of the light sun dress I was wearing. Underneath I had on one piece red and gold bathers. Draco was wearing green and silver swimming trunks.

I dove into the water and surfaced gasping for breath. For the shallows it was quite deep.

"Come on," I called to Draco. "If you don't hurry up I'll get out and push you in."

"All right," he said and he stood on the edge of the pool, in position to dive. But instead of diving, he jumped in, tucking his knees up to his chest and soaking my face in a tidal wave of water.

"Draco!" I gasped. "That was not nice!"

"No, but I'm sure you'll say this is," he said after he had surfaced.

He grabbed me and pulled him towards him so that I was pressed against his bare chest and captured our lips in a kiss.

After many hours of swimming, we pulled ourselves from the lake. Fingers and toes wrinkly from the water and soaked through to the bone.

I dried myself off and pulled my sundress back on. "Race you back to the castle!" I called to Draco as I took off running.

"Hey, that's not fair, you got a head start," he called after me.

* * *

><p>Later that evening we were both back in our uniforms and we were sitting at a table with Narcissa.<p>

I had seen Mrs Weasley and she had invited me to sit with them. I had thanked her but apologized because I was sitting with someone else. I hadn't said who because I didn't want to cause trouble, but I was sure that she would find out soon enough.

"Now I will hand out the results for your N.E.W.T. exams," said Professor McGonagall from the front of the room. "When I call your name please come up here to collect your results."

"Hannah Abbott," I watched as she went up to collect her results. She was in my year, a Hufflepuff.

May other students were called and eventually Professor McGonagall called "Hermione Granger."

I tried very hard not to jump out of my seat and run up to the podium. I was so excited to see what my results were.

Eventually I got there and Professor McGonagall handed me the sheet of parchment that had my results written on it.

I took it from her and returned to my seat. Opening it I discovered that I had received and 'O' in everything except for Defence Against the Dark Arts, which was yet another 'E'. The results were almost exactly the same as my O.W.L. results except without Care of Magical Creatures.

A few names later Professor McGonagall called, "Luna Lovegood."

I watched as Luna walked up to the podium as dreamily as ever, took her results and returned to the table she was sharing with her father, Neville and Neville's gran.

"Draco Malfoy," called Professor McGonagall.

I gave him a small push and he left his seat. He returned in a few moments with his results, but instead of opening them, he just placed them on the table.

"Aren't you going to look at them?" I asked.

"I prefer to look at them somewhere more private," he replied.

"Ginny Weasley," was among the last names called.

She walked up to Professor McGonagall and the returned to her seat next to Harry clutching her results tightly in her hand, like she was expecting them to fly away.

After the last name had been called, Professor McGonagall waver her wand and food appeared on the tables. Draco and I helped ourselves to some food, and I chatted with Narcissa.

She was nice once you got to know er, and I found we had a lot in common.

After about an hour, people began moving the tables back and creating space in the middle of the room for a dance floor. Professor McGonagall conjured up the music and a few couples began to dance.

"May I have this dance?" asked Draco, standing up and offering me his hand

"Of course," I said, taking his hand and standing up. We moved onto the dance floor and began to dance. I looked over at the table where the Weasley's were sitting and I saw Mrs Weasley looking at me in a funny sort of way. I decided to talk to her at the end of the night.

"Hermione," said Draco, bringing me back to the dance. "Mother says that if you want to, you could come and live with us. That way you would be living around that Weasel but you could still go and visit the family of you wanted to."

"Thank you Draco," I said. "I will come and live with you. Just give a few days more at their house to say goodbye and get all my things packed."

"Of course," he said.

* * *

><p>A couple of hours later, after most people had left or gone to bed I managed to get Mrs Weasley alone. She sprang on me at once.<p>

"Why didn't you tell me you were dating Draco Malfoy?" she cried.

"I was going to, but it sort of slipped my mind," I said.

"That's okay dear. If you ever need anything though, just remember that I'll always be here."

"Of course Mrs Weasley," I replied, before returning to the Great Hall to be with Draco and Narcissa.


	14. The Proposal

**Chapter 14 – The Proposal**

It was the next morning. I packed all of my things into my trunk for the last time and went for a walk around the castle to say goodbye to everything.

There was the third floor corridor in the right-hand side where the Philosopher's Stone had been hidden in our first year, Moaning Myrtle's bathroom which we had discovered contained the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets in our second year, the highest tower where Sirius had been kept before he was to be handed over to the dementors, the lake where the second task of the Tri-wizard tournament had been held, the Room of Requirement where we had held DA meetings on our fifth year and the library where I had spent so much time in my sixth year trying to figure out who the Half-Blood Prince was.

I returned to the common room to collect my trunk and found that Draco was up.

"Draco, I'm going to the Weasley's when we get back to London. I'll come to your house either later today or tomorrow," I told him.

"Okay love," he replied kissing my forehead. "I'll see you then."

"What? Aren't you going on the train?"

"No, mother's coming to collect me in a few minutes. She wants to have me all to herself for a bit," he told me.

"Oh, okay. I'll sit with Ginny, Neville and Luna then," I said, feeling a bit upset.

Soon I was walking down to the station with Ginny.

"Well, I'm happy about the way this year turned out," she said. "No great big dangers. No Harry Potter trying to risk his life."

"Yeah, we could finally settle down. Too bad we couldn't have just done that in our first year. But no, I had to become friends with Harry and then go off to save the world."

"Yeah, but I was worse off. At least you got to see them every day. I spent hours wondering if Harry was alright."

We were on the train by this time and it had pulled out of Hogsmeade Station. I looked down at my cloak and unpinned my Head Girl badge from it. I wouldn't need it anymore. I wouldn't need these robes anymore. In fact, this was the last time I was going to sit on this train with my friends in my school robes.

Eventually we pulled into Kings Cross Station and Ginny and I went in search of Mrs Weasley. We found her and she welcomed both of us with a huge hug. She explained that Harry and Ron were bot still at work but they could be back in time for dinner.

I followed her and Ginny out of the station, wondering what Draco was doing.

We arrived at the Burrow and Ginny took me up to her room. She began to unpack her things but stopped when she realised I wasn't.

"Why aren't you unpacking?" she asked.

"Ginny, I'm so sorry, I should have told you sooner. But I really should be packing," I told her.

"Why?" she asked.

"I'm not going to be living here anymore. Draco invited me to stay at his place so I'm going there. I'll come and visit but I like it better at his house. There are too many people here in this house at one time for me to cope with. I am used to a small house hold, when I was growing up there was always just me, my mum and my dad. At Draco's house there will be just me, him and his mum."

"Oh, have you told my mum yet?" she asked.

"No, I was going to do that in a minute."

"Why don't you do it now? Then you can be on your way sooner. I'll pack all your things for you if you want me to." She offered.

"Thanks Ginny," I replied as I left the room.

Mrs Weasley took the news better than I expected her to. She said although she was sad I wasn't staying here, at least I was moving on.

Ron and Harry arrived home a couple of hours later and I explained the whole thing to them. They seemed to take it well, Ron even seemed pleased.

_I'll bet he's happy because it means there's room for Lavender to come and stay,_ I thought to myself. _I bet Ginny won't be happy about that_.

The next morning I gathered all my things together in the living room and said final goodbye to everyone. Then I turned on the spot and apparated me and my things to Malfoy Manor.

* * *

><p>Draco and I had fun that day, making up for the almost two whole days that we had missed previously.<p>

We spent our time dancing, cuddling, sharing stories and exchanging the odd kiss or two. Narcissa called us for dinner at around seven o'clock and after that we played charades again.

That night I slept in the guest room again, which was now my room. Draco was by my side. Arms wrapped around me. Just like that first night at Hogwarts.

* * *

><p>A couple of months later, Draco decided that we should go out for a picnic. We pack our things and headed for a small, rarely visited park close to the manor.<p>

We spread the rug out and spent most of the afternoon lying around feeding each other strawberries covered in chocolate or cream.

We returned to the manor later that evening. I was about to open the door and go in my Draco caught my arm and spun me around to face him.

He removed something small from his pocket and then went down on one knee.

"Hermione darling, I have loved you since that first kiss we shared at Hogwarts last year. I know that you love me in return and I would like to seal that love by asking you to be my wife." He opened the small object which turned out to be a box to reveal the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. It had a thin silver band and it held a small diamond.

I burst into tears. Not of sadness, but of happiness and joy. I had been dreaming of this moment sine I was little and now it was actually happening. Draco didn't know all of this however.

"Hermione, what's wrong? Was it something I said?" he asked worriedly.

"No, Draco. Everything you said was perfect," I managed to get out. "I would love to be your wife." I held out my hand and he slid the ring onto my finger. Then he grabbed me and pulled me into a kiss.

We entered the manor holding hands and told Narcissa. She squealed like a little girl when we told her and started making plans right away. I could tell that her and Mrs Weasley were going to get along very well.

Which reminded me that I should tell them.

"Draco, can we go to the burrow? I want to tell Mrs Weasley and Ginny about our engagement," I told him.

"Of course Hermione," he said and we apparated there.

Mrs Weasley, Fleur and Ginny were in the kitchen preparing dinner when we arrived. Ginny spotted us first and raced over to us, her engagement ring shining on her finger. Harry had proposed to her a few weeks ago.

"Hermione! How lovely to see you! Can you stay for dinner?" asked Mrs Weasley.

"I'm afraid not Mrs Weasley," I replied. "Draco and I just popped round to tell everyone the news."

"What news?" asked Fleur, drying her hands from the soapy water.

"Draco and I are engaged to be married," I said.

Ginny gave a scream of excitement and flung her arms around me, Fleur followed shortly afterwards. When they had pulled back, Mrs Weasley wrapped me in a bone-crushing hug.

"That's wonderful news Hermione," said Mrs Weasley.

"What's wonderful news?" asked Harry. He, Ron, Percy, Fred, George and Bill had just appeared from upstairs.

"Draco and I are engaged to be married," I repeated.

"Congratulations," said Percy.

Bill gave Draco a look to say 'Good move.'

"Aww, Hermione's getting married before both of us Georgie," said Fred.

"That's excellent Hermione," said Harry.

Ron was the only one who didn't look happy. He huffed at me and stormed upstairs.

"He'll come round," said Mrs Weasley.

I looked around at everyone. Draco seemed to have been accepted by the boys, well, except for Ron, and the girls were swarming around me.

I was extremely happy.


	15. Preparations

**A/N: I know that this chapter is by far my shortest, but I didn't really feel like writing this part, even though I felt it needed to be in the story.**

**Only five more chapters to go. I'll be putting a poll up on my profile as to whether or not I should write a sequel.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 15 – Preparations<strong>

A couple of weeks later we had set a date for the wedding. January the 20th.

We had decided that Ginny and Luna were going to be Hermione's bridesmaids and Harry was going to be the ring bearer.

Hermione was getting more and more nervous every week. She always managed to think of something that could go wrong. Sometimes it was hard to make her shut up.

Eventually, it was about a month before the wedding and it was time for us to make a trip into Diagon Alley to pick out the dresses. We had already decided that we were going to theme the wedding purple, pale gray and white.

Our first stop was Madam Malkins' Robes for All Occasions. She helped us pick out the perfect dresses for Ginny and Luna who had accompanied us, along with Mrs Weasley, Fleur, Narcissa and Harry.

The dresses are white with a purple ribbon. They came down to knee length, and Madam Malkin suggested a pair or white heels for the both of them.

Then we were set with the more difficult task of finding a dress for Hermione. Eventually, we chose a strapless, full length white dress with a thick purple ribbon around that waist.

Harry and I both had dress robes with purple bow-ties.

We then moved onto another shop, where we selected white with purple trimmed sashes for the chairs, white table cloths and pale gray napkins.

The florist was extremely helpful and we soon had the perfect combinations of flowers.

Everything was organized. We had decided to have the wedding in the burrows backyard as that was where Bill and Fleur had apparently been married. We would be using the same tent; just it would be decorated differently.

The only thing that was missing was the cake, but Mrs Weasley, Ginny and Fleur had said they were going to take care of that.

* * *

><p>Later that night Hermione and I were sitting on the sofa. Or rather, I was sitting on the sofa and she was curled up on my lap.<p>

"I can't wait for our wedding Draco," she murmured.

"Me neither," I replied. Then, without warning, she had captured me in a kiss. It had to be one of the best ones we had ever shared, but maybe that was because it was so unexpected.

I hugged one arm around her waist and was running the other hand through her hair. She had both hands in my hair.

We pulled back, but she forced me in for another one. And another one. And another one.

It went on forever until eventually she dropped her head onto my shoulder.

"Whoever knew you could be so forceful," I teased, looking at her.

"It's one of my hidden talents," she replied.


	16. The Wedding

**Chapter 16 – The Wedding**

It was drawing closer and closer. There was now only three hours before I would be married to Draco Malfoy. Luna and Ginny were in my room getting their bridesmaids dresses on, the emerged later, with their dresses and shoes on and make up done. Their hair was pulled back in a half up-half down with a silver clasp.

I entered the room and Mrs Weasley and Narcissa began to help me get into my dress. The tied the ribbon, and somehow managed to make my hair sit flat. Soon my make up was done and I had joined Ginny and Luna in the living room.

As my father was in Australia, Mr Weasley had agreed to give me away, as he was sort of my unofficial adopted father.

The guests were arriving and we had given Fred, George and Ron the job of directing them to their seats. Harry appeared down stairs a second later, in his dress robes and straightening his bow tie.

Soon it was time. Harry took the cushion with the rings on it. And I took Mr Weasley's arm. The music began to play and Ginny and Luna set off down the aisle. I followed behind them, holding onto Mr Weasley's arm tightly for the fear of if I let go I would collapse of sheer excitement.

We arrived at the altar and I stood next to Draco.

"Who gives this woman away?" asked Percy.

"I do," said Mr Weasley and then he took his place next to Mrs Weasley.

"Repeat this phrase after me: 'May nos semper vivere in amore'." Said Percy.

"May nos semper vivere in amore," Draco and I repeated.

He then instructed us to kneel down.

"Harry, the rings," called Percy, and Harry stepped forwards with the rings.

Draco took the first ring and recited the vow we had chosen. "Hermione, you have filled my world with meaning. You have made me so happy and more fulfilled as a person. Thank you for taking me as I am; loving me; and welcoming me into your heart. I promise to always love you, respect you as an individual, and be faithful to you forever. Today I chose you to be my partner, and commit myself to you for the rest of my life." He then slipped the ring onto my finger.

I removed my ring and recited the vow to him. "Draco, you have filled my world with meaning. You have made me so happy and more fulfilled as a person. Thank you for taking me as I am; loving me; and welcoming me into your heart. I promise to always love you, respect you as an individual, and be faithful to you forever. Today I chose you to be my partner, and commit myself to you for the rest of my life." My voice wobbled a bit at the end as I slipped the ring onto his finger.

"You may now stand and kiss the bride," said Percy.

Draco and I stood up and we embraced in a kiss. As we did so I could hear people cheering.

Then it was time for the wedding reception. Percy waved his wand and the rows of seats disappeared. In their place were smaller tables to seat about four to each and a large dance floor in the centre. There was also a big concealed table that held the wedding cake.

There was a band there that began to play music and Draco whisked me onto the dance floor. We twirled and danced, and soon other couples began to join us. Eventually we grew tired of dancing and moved off the floor to get some drinks. Or at least we were going to get some drinks when Mrs Weasley called for everyone's attention. It was time to unveil the cake.

She gave a short speck and then Ginny and Luna removed the cover off the cake.

The cake was beautiful.

It was covered it whit icing, but it had scattering of purple icing flowers on it. On the very top were two little enchanted icing models dancing. They looked exactly like me and Draco.

The cake was cut and before long everyone was enjoying a piece.

At the end of the evening Draco and I made our way out the front to the Ministry Car that was waiting to take us to the airport for our honeymoon in Paris.

I climbed in the backseat and Draco followed. Soon we were driving down the road, away from everyone, towards our new life.

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><p><strong>AN: Yet another short chapter. I'm really sorry guys but I'm doing my best. Hopefully you giys enjoy this one though.**


	17. Honeymoon

**A/N: Hey guys, I just want to point something out.**

**I have noticed that I have had hundreds of visitors and hits on this story and plenty of alerts and favourites, but only five reviews.**

**Is it just me or is there something wrong there.**

**I love getting reviews on my story but I ask that no one leaves a flame. If you need to flame my story please do it in a PM rather than doing it on the story.**

**Thanks.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 17 – Honeymoon<strong>

We had been staying in Paris for about a week when Draco decided that it was time we actually did some sightseeing. All we had one since we got here was stay cooped up in our hotel room and we were both itching to get out and about.

Our first stop was the Eiffel Tower, one of the most famous landmarks in France. We went right to the top where it was really windy.

"How do you like the breeze Mrs Malfoy?" asked Draco.

"It's a bit strong for my liking, but I can live with it," I replied, smiling at him.

Then we moved onto the Notre Dame. I remembered watching a movie with my parents when I was little called _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_. I had really enjoyed it, and now I was visiting the place where it was set.

We went inside and spent hours looking around. By the time we left it was midday. Draco suggested we eat out for lunch instead of going all the way back to the hotel to come back out again.

We went to a restaurant and I was advising Draco on what to order since he couldn't speak French and I had studied it at my muggle school before I came to Hogwarts.

The upside to this was that I got him to order frogs legs and then I told him that it was just strangely shaped chicken. He actually believed me until he took a bite. I almost wet myself laughing at the look that appeared on his face.

"That's not chicken," he said spitting out into his napkin.

"No, I said, still laughing. "It's not, its frog's legs. I always thought they tasted like chicken but apparently other people think differently. You should have seen the look on your face after you took a bite, it was priceless!"

"Nice to know," he muttered. "Come on, let's go, I've lost my appetite."

"Okay" I said. "But you're paying the bill."

"Fine," he grumbled, rummaging around in his pocked to pull out some muggle money to hand to the waiter.

The last stop on our sightseeing day was the Louvre. It was home to one of the most famous muggle paintings: The Mona Lisa painted by Leonardo Da Vinci.

Draco had never been to the Louvre before so I showed him around. We got a very brief glimpse of the Mona Lisa through the crowds of muggles gathered around it. We wandered around and marveled at the other works of art as well.

Eventually it began to grown dark and I turned to Draco. "Draco, I think we should go back to the hotel now. It's getting dark and I'm really hungry. I never got to eat lunch because of the incident with the frogs' legs."

"You're right. Let's go now and have a sensible dinner back at the hotel," he replied placing his arm around my shoulders.

We walked back the hotel in almost total silence. Not intentional, but neither of us could think of anything to say.

We found a seat in the hotel's restaurant and we each ordered our usual meals. One's that didn't come with any surprises.

It was about ten o'clock when we finally got back to our hotel room.

Once the door had closed behind us, Draco grabbed me by the waist and swung me around.

I laughed out loud and when he stopped I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

"I think it must have married the prettiest lady on the planet," he whispered in my ear.

"And I think I married the handsomest man," I replied.

"That's good to know," he replied. "I'd hate it if there was another man who could do this." and he pulled us both into a passionate kiss.

We surfaced, gasping for breath and sat down on the sofa, I snuggled into his arms.

"I'd hate it as well," I replied, kissing to tip of his nose.

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><p>We spent around three more weeks on Paris after that day before deciding it was time for us to return to England.<p>

We packed all of our clothes up and headed for the airport. When we got back, we would be living at Malfoy Manor until we found a nice home for us to live in and raise a family.

Soon the plane touched down at the airport and we got off.

We got in to taxi which was going to drive us out to Ottery St Catchpole where we could walk to the Weasley's from. We would have dinner with them and then apparated to Malfoy Manor to spend the night there.

We knocked on the door and Ginny opened it.

"Hermione!" she squealed. "You're back!"

Harry appeared at the door next to her and welcomed Draco. We entered the living room and Mrs Weasley and Fleur bombarded me with questions about how our honeymoon was.

I was extremely thankful when it was time for us to eat dinner. Bill, Fred, George, Ron and Lavender had joined us by this time. I discovered that while we had been away Ron had proposed to Lavender and so they were going to be married sometime soon as well.

Dinner was unusually quiet with the exception of some of Fred and Georges Whiz-Bang Firecrackers going off upstairs by accident and they had to run up to take care of it.

The firecracker's always reminded me of our fifth year when the toad Umbridge had been the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. She had tried to take over the school, but it hadn't worked. Fred and George had set some of their firecracker's on her as they had made their departure.

When dinner was over and Draco and I had finished our numerous goodbyes we finally managed to apparate back to Malfoy Manor.

"That was eventful," Draco said as we climbed the stairs to our room.

"Yes," I said.

We changed and clambered into bed.

"Goodnight Draco," I whispered.

"Goodnight Hermione," he replied.


	18. The News

**Chapter 18 – The News**

It was about six weeks later when Hermione and I were looking through the Daily Prophet for a house when I noticed she had gone pale.

She rushed up to the bathroom and I could hear sounds of vomiting.

"Hermione, are you alright? I called up.

"Yes Draco. I just think that something we ate for lunch didn't agree with me," she replied.

We thought nothing more of it until the next day the same thing happened, and the next, and the next.

"Hermione darling, I think you ought to go to the doctors," I told her.

"Okay," she replied.

We got in the car and I drove her to St Mungo's.

We checked in and soon we were sitting in a doctor's office.

"What's the problem?" she asked us.

"Everyday I've been vomiting and feeling sick," said Hermione. "And sometimes I have really bad mood swings for no reason."

I nodded. I had been on the receiving end of some of those. They were not nice.

"Well, let's just do a few tests and we'll see what comes up," said the doctor.

She proceeded to do so many tests that I lost count, however there was only one that seemed to get a reaction from. When she finished she turned to both of us.

"Mr and Mrs Malfoy, you are going to have a child," she told us.

I looked at her as if she had gone mental and Hermione's face lit up.

"Did you hear that Draco?" she asked. "We're going to have a baby. We're going to be a family!"

I looked at my wife's face and saw that she was genuinely excited. I was too of course; it was just going to take me a while to get over the shock of it.

"I presume that's all you want to hear," the doctor asked.

"Well, if it's possible, can we know the sex of the baby yet?" asked Hermione.

"Well, I think it's a boy, but if you come back in a few months we should be able to tell," said the doctor.

"Thank you," I said as we left the room. Shortly we were back at Malfoy Manor.

"We should probably get clothes and a room for the baby organized," said Hermione. "And of course we have to tell the Weasley's and Harry, they'll be so excited."

I just sat there and listened as my pregnant wife made all sorts of plans for our soon to be new family member. I could only imagine what my father would say if he could see me now. Married to a muggle-born who was carrying my child. I was basically defying everything he had ever told me.

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><p>It was a few days later when we were at the Weasley's for dinner when Hermione suddenly called for everyone's attention.<p>

"Everyone," she said. "I have some important news to share. Draco and I went to St Mungo's the other day and we have found out that soon there will be another person in our family. We're going to have a baby."

"Hermione, that's wonderful!" cried Mrs Weasley. "I must knit some new clothes for it."

Harry, who was sitting next to me, patted me on the back. "Congratulations mate," he said.

The table was quite noisy after that. Everyone was asking questions about the baby and if we had come up with any names yet.

"I think we'll wait until we see the baby before we name it," said Hermione. "That way we can be sure the name suits it."

I reached under the table and took my wife's hand in my own. We were going to have a family in a couple of months.

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><p>It was about four weeks later that we went shopping in Diagon Alley for things to decorate the baby's room with. We had decided that Hermione would move into my room and we would turn the guest room into the baby's room until we found a house.<p>

My mother was okay with having a baby in the house and I was sure that if we ever needed a baby sitter, Mrs Weasley or Fleur would be the first to volunteer.

"What about this cute little crib?" asked Hermione, pointing at a white one.

"And this is a perfect changing table," said Mrs Weasley.

"And this could be the toy box," said Fleur.

We had picked out all the furniture within a couple of hours and then we were set with the task of picking out clothes.

We still were not entirely sure of the gender of the baby so we were trying to find clothes that would suit boys and girls, which meant no dresses or pink.

Eventually we found plenty of cute little jumpsuits in yellow, blue and red.

"I think that whatever gender our baby is, it's going to be very happy," I said to Hermione when we were back at Malfoy Manor setting up the baby's room.

"I hope so," she replied.

When we had finished with the room, it looked wonderful. We had a crib, a changing table, a toy box, and a cabinet. Mrs Weasley had promised to come round the next day with the clothes she had made for the baby and Fleur had made them a soft toy hippogriff.

"It's perfect," she murmured, as I hugged her.

"Yes, and so is our baby," I said, rubbing the small bump in her belly that was our child.

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><p><strong>AN: Almost finished, only two chapter's to go now.**

**At this stage, I think I will write a sequel, but you may have to wait a bit for that as I'm going to have a short break from writing once I've finished this story which I'm hoping to do today.**

**Remember to review :)**


	19. Birth

**Chapter 19 – Birth**

Around eight months later, Draco and I were sitting on the sofa. It was quite obvious that I was pregnant now.

We were in the middle of a movie when I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. I winced and put my hand there.

"What's wrong Hermione? Is our son moving again?" asked Draco.

"No, I don't think so," I replied, and we settled back onto the sofa.

But the pains came again and again closer and closer until I was in a lot of pain. "Draco," I gasped. "I think it's time."

"What? But the baby's not due for another month!" he said.

"It doesn't matter, just get me to the hospital!" I cried, tears were streaming down my cheeks now.

He scooped me up and carried me to the car and drove me to St Mungo's. He then picked me up again and carried me to the desk.

"Excuse me, my wife is in labour," he told the lady behind the desk. "The baby's decided to come early."

"Oh dear, we'll get her a wheel chair and take her straight to a room, if you want to alert her family you can," they told him.

He set me down in the wheelchair and whispered. "I'm going to tell Mrs Weasley, I'll be back in a minute," and he disapparated.

They wheeled me into a room and two nurses lifted me up onto a bed. I was still sobbing the pain was so great.

"Okay, when we tell you to push, you need to push," one of them said to me.

"I don't bloody well want to push, I want my husband!" I screamed.

"You're husband has gone to get your family," said the nurse.

"I don't care, he needs to get his arse right here, right now. He is not missing the birth of our child."

The nurses however, weren't listening. "Okay, push," one of them said, and I had no choice but to obey.

I was there for what seemed like hours, which Draco later told me was actually hours, before Draco and Mrs Weasley came rushing into the room.

"Draco Malfoy! You get your arse over here now!" I screamed at him as soon as I saw him.

He was quick to obey. He took my left hand in both of his and held it. He stroked my hair and whispered to me for ages until eventually, with a final scream, we could hear a baby crying.

"Mr and Mrs Malfoy," said the nurse. "You are now the proud parents of a baby boy."

I was still crying but I was crying of happiness rather than pain.

The nurses washed the baby and wrapped him in a blanket before passing him to me to hold.

"He's beautiful," I murmured.

"What shall we name him?" asked Draco.

"His middle name with be Abraxas, for your grandfather," I said.

"And how about Matthew for the first," Draco suggested.

"Matthew Abraxas Malfoy. I like it," I said, kissing our son on the head.

"He's our miracle baby," said Draco.

Mrs Weasley was at my bedside by this time as well. "He's beautiful," she said. "He has your eyes Draco, but he has his mother's hair."

"Well, I hope his hair isn't exactly like mine, it would be impossible to tame," I laughed.

"Excuse me, but I believe that some congratulations are necessary," came a voice from the door.

Ginny and Harry were standing there, they were exactly the people I wanted to see.

"Ginny, Harry! Meet Matthew Abraxas Malfoy," I said.

"He's beautiful, can I hold him?" Ginny asked. I nodded and passed him over.

"Ginny, Harry, Draco and I wanted to asked you if you would like to be Matthew's God Parents," I told them.

"Oh Hermione, we'd be honoured," said Ginny.

"Yes, but only if you two agree to be God Parents for our first child," said Harry smiling.

"Oh Ginny, does that mean?" I asked.

"Yes it does, Harry and I are going to have a baby as well," she said.

I sat up and flung my arms around her.

"I'll help you with everything," I promised.

"You'd better watch out for the mood swings mate," I heard Draco say to Harry. "They can get pretty bad."

"Hey, I wasn't that bad," I protested.

We all laughed. We were all happy, Draco and I had started a family, Ginny and Harry were going to have one and Ron was just being himself.

My life seemed perfect and I was happy.

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><p><strong>AN: Well that's the main part of the story done. Next up is the epilogue and then this story is finished.**

**I'm please with it. I think back to the first few chapter's at Hogwarts when they hated each other, and then to this chapter where they've welcomed their son into the world. They've come a long way.**

**Also, I have had no experience with childbirth except for the occasional fanfic I've read and what I've heard from my parents or on the t.v., so if I got anything wrong, I apologise.**

**I hope to have a prologue up soon.**


	20. Epilogue  Happily Ever After

**Epilogue – Happily Ever After**

It had been fifteen years since the happy day when Draco and I had welcomed Matthew into the world. Three years later we had twin daughters, Sophie Ella Malfoy and Phoebe Jane Malfoy, then four years later we had Caleb Alastor Malfoy and then another four years later we had Tilly Louise Malfoy.

Matthew had been the first Malfoy to be sorted in Gryffindor, something I was very proud of him for. Sophie and Phoebe had been sorted into Ravenclaw, they both had the brains that I did. Caleb and Tilly were both too young to be attending Hogwarts yet.

A year after Matthew was born Ginny had given birth to James Sirius, our God son, and then two years later they had had Albus Severus, who was in the same year as the twins. Their youngest was Lily Luna who was two years older than Caleb.

Lavender and Ron had married later and had two daughters, Emily Molly who was the same age as Matthew and Alicia Felicity who was thirteen and a squib. They had been devastated when they found out, and when poor Alicia had asked why she couldn't do what her sister could, they had to tell her the truth.

It was the school term, and we had Ginny and Harry around at our house. Lily was off with Caleb and Tilly and we were talking.

"I remember back in third year when you were so angry you punch Draco in the jaw," laughed Harry.

"Yes, well, he deserved it," I said. "He was being rude."

"Well so long as you punish me in a nicer way next time I'm rude, I think I'll be a lot happier," said Draco.

"And then there was in our last year when you were so determined to hate Malfoy, you were in denial about him liking you," laughed Ginny.

"Well, I'm glad that I realised that he did genuinely care for me," I said.

"MUM!" came the sound of Caleb from upstairs.

"I'd better go and see what that's about," I said, standing up.

"What is it honey," I asked entering the room he shared with his brother. We had finally found a house a few months after Matthew was born.

"Tilly won't leave us alone," he said, pointing at his four-year-old sister.

"Caleb darling, she's only four. She's curious, and anyway why are you and Lily in your room anyway, I thought you were going outside."

"Well we were, but then Monty started jumping on us and we had to come inside."

I laughed. Monty was our dog. He was only a puppy, but he was big enough to knock Caleb over when he jumped up.

"Okay, but don't touch any of your brother's things, you know how he is about them," I said, picking up Tilly. "I'll take Tilly downstairs with me for a while so you and Lily can have some time alone, but I have to go to work soon, so your father will be in charge."

"Yes mum," said Caleb and he turned back to whatever he was doing with Lily.

I sighed and closed the door, as much as I like having a family it was hard work sometimes.

"Have I told you the story of when daddy ate frog's legs?" I asked Tilly as we went downstairs.

"No," she replied, shaking her head.

"Well, when we were on holiday…"

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><p><strong>AN: And that's it. This story is finished.**

**I think I will write a sequel and I will post an Authors note in a new chapter with the details as soon as I think of them.**

**A thank you to my four reviewers: xXheartandsoulXx, caramiss, feebz42 and PurpleFlyingToasters.**

**And remember, just because the story is finished doesn't mean, you still cant review.**


	21. Final AN

**Hey everyone,**

**I'm back, and I have an idea for the sequel to **_**Doing Better**_**. I have decided to give you the full summary below:**

Draco's father gets out of Azkaban and goes after Draco because he married a 'mudblood'.

Hermione and Draco are forced to move and seek refuge with Harry and Ginny. But when things turn nasty, and ten year old Lily is injured, they only have one place left to turn to…

Hermione's ex-boyfriend.

**So, what do you think? I reckon it's pretty good, but some of you may have other ideas. If you have any suggestions let me know via review or PM.**

**I can also tell you that we are going to have one extra view point in this story. Any guesses as to who it might be?**

**So that's it for this story and I'll see you guys in the next one which will be titled **_**On The Run.**_

**Also, a big thank you to Icelynne, Dream Author, Dove Rymorn and Raniiifull for reviewing,**_**  
><strong>_

**Dreamheart**


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